128 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
February  11,  19C4. 
Young  Gardeners’  Domain. 
Xbe  Eilitor  welcomes  short  letters  from  under  gardeners.  Letters  should  be  con- 
lined  to  500  words  in  length,  should  be  written  only  on  one  side  of  the  paper, 
as  clearly  as  possible,  with  one  inch  space  at  both  top  and  bottom,  as  well 
as  at  the  sides.  The  names  and  addresses  of  the  writers  must  accompany 
all  communications,  not  necessarily  for  publication,  but  as  a  guarantee  of 
good  faith.  If  these  points  are  not  respected,  the  letters  cannot  be  considered 
Manettia  bicolor. 
Enclosed  with  tliis  .short  note  are  a  few  sprays,  or  .side 
shoots,  of  the  above-named  climber,  which  at  this  time  of  the 
year  I  consider  exceedingly  bright,  although  not  fully  in 
"bloom.  It  is  a  very  ea.sy  “  doer,”  reciniring  cool  greenhouse  treat¬ 
ment  during  the  whole  season  of  grotvth,  and  succeeds  in  an 
ordinary  rich  loamy  soil.  Cuttings  may  he  taken  about  April, 
and  grown  on  into  Gin  pots,  training  them  around  four  upright 
sticks,  about  2ft  high,  which  they  easily  cover.  I  do  not  think 
it  is  known  a  great  deal,  or  it  would  be  cultivated  more 
generally,  as  it  is  a  true  icinfer  bloomer.  For  training  up 
the  roof  of  a  greenhou.se  I  should  think  it  would  suit  admirably, 
in  this  case  using  three  or  four  plants  in  an  Sin  or  9in  pot,  and 
stoi)ping  them  once,  when  small,  so  as  to  produce  a  number  of 
leading  .shoots. — E.  B.,  South  Berks. 
[The  shoots  bore  fiumerous  crim.son,  orange-tipped  almost 
fle-shy  flowers,  and  healthy,  dark  green  foliage.— En.] 
The  Drinking  Habit-Scots  v.  English  Gardeners. 
Your  corre.spondent  “Scot”  writes  that the  T.T.’s  are  in 
numerous  cases  terrible  tipjjlers.”  I  <im  my.self  a  staunch 
ab.staiuer,  even  from  Scotti.sh  whisky,  which  I  am  told  Scots 
teetotalers  .see  no  harm  in  taking!  With  many  years  of  bothy 
life  I  have  never  seen  one  companion  come  home  drunk.  I  am 
not  going  to  .say  that  they  were  all  ah.stainers,  but  they  have 
l)een"' men  whom  even  “Scot”  could  not  point  the  finger  of 
shame  at.  I  would  not  des])i.se  a.  man  l)ecause  he  regaled  the 
inner  man  with  a  glass  of  good  old  ale,  hut  I  do  detest  a  sly 
drinker.  I  admire  the  man  who  has  the  courage  to  say  No.  I 
hope  that  “  Scot”  is  net  of  an  overbearing  character,  or  that  his 
manner  drives  the  young  men  from  the  hothy.  A  foreman  can 
make  bothy  life  as  near  like  home  as  it  is  possible.  Speaking 
of  why  Scottish  gardeners  are  (or  were)  in’eferred  to  Ejiglish. 
a  friend  told  me  about  a  place  which  at  one  time  was  filled 
with  English  gardeners,  and  which  -is  riow  filled  by  Scotsmen, 
and  the  reason  in  this  instance  was  that  they  were  cheaper. 
Drink  is  the  curse  to  our  land,  let  it  he  England  or  Scotland, 
and  T  trust  that  the  correspondence  that  has  passed  may  show 
to  those  young  men  who  frequent  the  public-houses  that  they 
are  not  learning  any  good  while  so  doing. — Englishman,  Berks. 
Freesias  and  Their  Culture. 
These  beautiful  flowers  are  now  considerably  in  evidence.  To 
ensure  a  good  early  display  of  flowers  the  bulbs  should  be  potted 
the  first  week  in  August,  and  another  hatch  tlie  latter  part  of 
September  for  a  succession  of  blooms.  The  potting  soil  should  be 
three  parts  good  sweet  loam,  one  part  leaf  soil,  and  plenty  sharp 
sand,  all  well  mixed  together.  The  fine.st  bulbs  should  be  potted 
together,  putting  from  five  to  eight  in  a  .5in  pot.  The  next  size 
should  be  potted  the  .same  way,  for  if  the  bulbs  are  potted  all 
sizes  together  they  are  apt  to  come  up  some  strong  and  some 
weak,  and  the  flower  spikes  are  very  uneven.  After  the  bulbs 
are  potted  they  should  he  placed  in  a  cold  frame  with  about 
4in  of  litter  ai’ound  them  to  keep  the  soil  moist.  When  growth 
is  beginning,  three  parts  of  the  litter  should  be  removed,  or  else 
the  plant.s  will  become  drawn  and  the  growth  be  weak. 
After  the  growths  are  about  Gin  they  should  he  neatly  staked 
and  taken  to  the  greenhouse,  and  put  upon  the  shelf  as  near  the 
glass  as  possible  to  get  as  much  light  as  they  can.  They  are 
lovers  of  light  and  clear  ventilation  freely  on  mild  days.  They 
will  not  endure  a  cutting  draught.  They  can  be  grown  quite 
easily  from  seeds  by  sowing  from  January  to  the  end  of  March, 
whenever  it  may  be  mo.st  convenient,  and  they  will  flower  pro¬ 
fusely  in  six  months.  Another  sowing  should  he  made  in  August 
to  supply  flowers  in  spring.  When  the  flower  buds  begin  to  show 
the  bulbs  may  he  fed  twice  a  week  with  liquid  manui'e,  and  taken 
to  a  warmer  temperature  to  blossom.  After  the  flowering  .season 
is  over  they  should  not  be  forgotten  ;  they  should  be  treated  just 
as  well  after  the  blooming,  so  long  as  there  is  any  green  foliage 
left.  One  of  the  chief  points  in  Freesia  culture  is  to  get  some 
fine  bulbs,  then  we  can  expect  large  flowers.  When  the  bulbs  are 
well  ripened  they  can  be  sorted  out  and  stored  in  a  cool,  dry 
place,  free  from  frost,  until  they  are  wanted  for  potting  again. 
Freesias  like  a  long  rest,  and  need  to  be  grown  quickly  to  obtain 
the  best  results  from  them. — G.  B.,  Berks. 
- - 
A  December  Melon. — A  perfectly  finished  ripe  Melon  wa.s 
cut  on  December  5  in  the  garden  of  Onslow  Hall,  Shrewsbury. 
Hardy  Fruit  Garden. 
PEACHES  AND  NECTARINES.— There  should  be  no 
further  delay  in  pruning  and  ti’aining  these.  Where  the  old 
fruiting  wood  was  thinned  out  after  bearing  there  will  be  but 
a  small  amount  of  pruning  required.  The  old  weakly  growths 
should  he  removed  and  neAV  shoots  of  medium  .strength  laid  in 
for  the  greater  part  of  their  length.  Where  there  is  ample 
room  for  extension  it  is  foolish  to  shorten  leading  growths  hard 
back  as  is  so  frequently  done.  The  new  wood  should  not  l)e 
trained  less  than  4in  asunder,  and  when  very  strong ‘Gin  is  not 
too  much  space  to  allow. 
APRICOTS.  —  In  warm  localities  these  will  shortly  be  in 
flower,  and  the  work  of  pruning  and  training  must  at  once 
leceive  attention  if  it  has  from  any  cau.se  been  delayed. 
Endeavour  to  keep  the  spurs  short,  while  at  the  same  time 
I'etaining  a  sufficient  number  of  fruit  buds  to  ensure  a  crop. 
Where  space  allows,  lay  in  young  growth,  and  though  it  is  not 
wise  to  cut  the.se  trees  more  than  is  j’eally  nece.ssary,  old,  worn- 
out  branches  should  he  eliminated.  In  planting  young  Apricots 
a  good  propoition  of  lime  rubble  should  be  stirred  into  the 
soil. 
PROTECTING  THE  FLOWERS. -Have  materials  in  readi¬ 
ness  for  sheltering  the  blo.ssom  on  all  the  above.  Double  fish 
netting  will  often  prove  a  sufficient  protection  in  warm 
localities,  but  in  the  (Midlands  and  North  it  is  impo.ssible  to 
ensure  a  crop  of  fruit  with  such  means,  and  rollei’s  and  blinds 
ought  to  he  provided,  to  be  let  down  at  night  and  during  cold 
storms  of  hail  or  snow  during  the  day.  ,  In  the  South  we  have 
generally  been  able  to  obtain  crops  by  the  use  of  netting,  but 
Spruce  bi’anches,  portions  of  Laurels  and  other  evergreens  have 
also  proved  u.seful. 
Pi. ANTING  SMALL  FRUITS. — Young  plants  of  Gooro- 
berries  and  Cuirants  raised  from  cuttings  a  year  ago  may  be 
moved  into  permanent  quartei's  now.  If  planted  5ft  or  Gft 
apart  it  will  be  possible  to  crop  the  ground  between  with 
summer  crops  for  a  yeai'  or  two.  Suckers  of  Raspberries  may 
be  taken  off  and  planted  in  rows  or  clumps  ;  if  iji  rows  these 
.slioukl  be  5ft  apart,  and  the  plants  a  foot  asunder — chimps 
ought  to  be  from  4ft  to  Gft  apart.  . 
FIGS. — The  protection  for  the.se  may  now  be  dispensed  with, 
and  the  ti’ees  be  pruned  and  fastened  to  the  walls  or  trellis. 
As  the  Fig  bears  on  the  young  wood,  as  much  as  possible  of 
this  should  he  retained  without  crowding,  and  the  old  bearing 
wood  should  be  cut  away.  Aim  at  having  plenty  of  new  growth 
disclosed  evenly  at  about  Gin  aiiart. — J.  W.,  Newent,  GIos. 
Fruit  Forcing. 
VINES:  EYES  AND  CUT-BACKS.— Eyes  may  now  be 
inserted,  using  pots,  pans,  or  pieces  of  turf.  Select  firm,  well- 
ripened  wood,  filling  the  pot  or  iian  with  sound  friable  loam, 
iiLsertin^  the  buds  with  a  jiinch  of  silver  sand  about  half  an 
inch  beneath  the  surface,  plunging  the  pots  in  a  bottom  heat 
of  SOdeg.  Cut-backs  should  he  placed  in  a  house  where  they 
will  have  a  temperature  of  GOdeg  to  Godeg  at  night,  and  TOdeg 
to  75deg  by  day.  When  they  have  started  into  growth,  and 
have  made  shoots  about  2in  long,  turn  them  out  of  the  pots, 
remove  the  loose  soil  and  return  to  the  same  size  of  pot,  tising 
good  friable  loam,  in-oviding  a  moi.st  and  rather  close  atmo¬ 
sphere  until  they  are  re-establi.shed,  when  they  should  have  a 
po.sition  near  the  glass,  so  as  to  insure  sturdy,  short -jointed 
thoroughly  .sol-idified  growth. 
EARLY  HOUSE.  —  The  Vines  in  flower  must  have  a  tem¬ 
perature  of  Godeg  to  70deg  at  night,  odeg  less  on  cold  nights, 
and  Mu.scats  70deg  to  75deg,  rising  odeg  to  lOdeg  by  day  with 
gleams  of  sunshine.  Keep  the  atmosphei-e  somewhat  drier  hr 
free  ventilation,  leaving  a  little  cn  at  night,  yet  a  genial  con¬ 
dition  of  the  atmosphere  must  be  maintained  by  sprinkling 
the  floor  twice  a  day  during  bright  wbather.  Any  shy-setting 
varieties  may  have  the  pollen  distributed  by  means  of  a  camelhs- 
hair  brush.  Stop  the  laterals  at  the  first  leaf,  and  keej)  tho.so 
pinched  to  one  leaf  throughout  the  season,  hut  growths  beyond 
the  hunch  may  be  allowed  to  make  two  or  more  joints,  T)ro- 
vided  there  is  space  for  the  full  exposure  of  foliage  to  light 
and  air.  Avoid  overcrowding  the  foliage.  It  is  better  to 
reduce  the  laterals  than  retain  them  to  the  extent  of  crowding, 
retaining  frnit  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  foliage.  Heavily 
cropped  Vines  make  correspondingly  little  foliage,  and  the 
Grapes  frequently  do  not  colour  becau.se  there  is  not  sufficient 
■stored  matter  for  conversion  at  the  time  of  ripenii’g  into  tlm 
